Panthers ECHL prospects season review

By Holly Gunning

May 13th, 2006

Johner

Last August, the Florida Panthers signed aone-year affiliation agreement with the ECHL Florida Everblades, located on theother side of the peninsula in Estero. Prior to this, the Panthers hadsent their AA prospects to the Texas Wildcatters. This year they insteaddoubled up with the Carolina Hurricanes, who remain affiliated with theEverblades as well. It was a successful relationship that took the team tothe South Division finals, and thus likely to be renewed next season.

Below is a review of the seasons of six Panthersprospects who spent time with the Everblades. Goaltender Phil Osaer alsospent the season with the team, but the 26-year-old no longer fits Hockey’sFuture’s prospect criteria.

Dustin Johner,C

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season (Florida)

36

15

21

36

17

24

Regular season (Las Vegas)

9

2

2

4

0

8

Playoffs

8

5

4

9

-1

4

ThePanthers selected Johner with a sixth-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft,but did not sign him by the 2003 deadline. He remained in junior for anotherseason, then signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent in 2004.

Florida re-acquired the rightsto Johner on Dec. 2, 2005 as part of a three-player deal which sent winger Kristian Huselius toCalgary. The Panthers then assigned Johner to the Everblades.

In his first game on Dec. 3, he picked up twoassists, just 12 hours after flying in from Las Vegas, the Flames affiliatewhere he had been assigned.

The Wranglers’ leading scorer in 2004-05, he had gotten off to a bit of a slowstart this year recovering from mono.

Johnerwould only stay two weeks with the Everblades before being recalled to the AHLRochester Americans for 10 days. He was reassigned back to the team onJan. 28, where he finished the season. He had a good playoffs with ninepoints in eight games, despite suffering a concussion in the series againstGreenville.

The 5’11, 117-pound center also appeared in five games with Omaha of theAHL this year.

Agood skater with some offensive upside, the 23-year-old should be knocking on the AHL doornext season.

Drew Larman, C

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season

6

0

0

0

-6

4

Playoffs

8

4

2

6

2

4

Larman played just six games with the Everbladesat the very beginning of the season before being called up to Rochester. The defensive forward would be veryimportant to the team come playoff time, however, scoring six points in eightgames.

“Drew’s terrific on faceoffs — a soliddefensive forward,” Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming said during theteam’s final playoff series. “Knows his responsibility andis just getting better. Solid positionally, his biggest asset is the ability to take faceoffs on his strong side which wouldbe his left side.”

The 21-year-old will look to stick the entireyear in Rochester next season.

Martin Lojek, D

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season

45

3

11

14

13

40

Playoffs

2

0

0

0

-3

0

Lojek and Tuma are often spoken of in one breath,both 6’4 first-year defensemen out of the Czech Republic, born just a monthapart. The 20-year-olds are also goodfriends and rarely separated.

“I think it was important for them to get a year in the ECHL just to understand the habits of what it takes to be a professional hockey player, learning the training, the practice schedule, theregimen,” Fleming said. “They’ve gotten better as the year’s gone on. I think now that they have the tools and the instruction of what a professional athlete does, I think the offseason’s going to be big for them.”

Fleming pointed to Lojek’s “huge shot”as one thing that separated him from Tuma. It’s one that is both hard andaccurate from the point.

Lojek was recalled twice to Rochester, both timesin the first half of the season. He was paired mostly with second-year pro ChrisLee at even strength and played on both the power play and penalty kill for theEverblades. He makes a good outlet pass that keeps him in positive plus/minusterritory.

Martin Tuma, D

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season

48

0

6

6

-5

75

Playoffs

1

0

0

0

0

0

Tuma had only half of Lojek’s points, but is stronger positionally than Lojek, according toFleming. Tuma was recalled to Rochester at the end of the regular season,giving the Panthers a read on him for next season. Tuma has the mobilityto play effective defense, but needs to stay away from obstruction penalties toremain effective. He uses his 6’4 frame more often than Lojek.

Both Tuma and Lojek found it difficult to crack the lineup inthe playoffs on a team who favors more veteran players.

Jeremy Swanson, D

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season

14

1

3

4

-5

12

Playoffs

injured

–

–

–

–

–

Swanson is a solid defenseman when he’s healthyand on his game, but unfortunately that was a rare occurrence this season.

“He didn’t come into camp in the greatest shape and they were a little bit disappointed at that.But he’s a young player who hopefully learned a valuable lesson, that your body isyour investment and you have to take care of it. I think he’ll grow and get better from it.”

Swanson began the year with the Everblades, but was called up in late October toRochester.The 21-year-old suffered a concussion after just 11 games with the Americans. He was finallyreassigned back to the Everblades on Feb. 14. He played five gamesand just wasn’t ready. He stayed out of the lineup the rest of the yearwith post-concussion syndrome.

“He just didn’t feel himself,” Fleming described. “His vision was suffering a bit and as a result it was effecting his play, which is understandable.We sent him over to Florida because of the proximity to us. They had their doctors examine him and had further tests. They sent him back to us, so it’s just a matter of time. He’s been working out and getting better.He’s been back on the ice at practice with us. He had a couple practices [sofar]. He said he felt a little bit better so that’s a positive sign.”

Grant McNeill, D/F

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

PIM

Regular season

31

1

1

2

5

123

Playoffs

injured

–

–

–

–

–

McNeill spent far more time on the IR this seasonthan on the ice. He suffered a concussion on Oct. 29, was activated onNov. 27 and played until Jan. 2, when he was recalled to Rochester. Heonly played two games with Rochester before suffering a shoulder injury thatkept him out the rest of the year.

“It’s too bad because he was really gettingbetter,” Fleming said. “As a defenseman he always had a reputationas a tough guy. He’s a kid who could play either defense or forward.I think he does well in his role, he’s a presence, there’s no doubt aboutit. He battled through some injuries this year and I know he was a littlebit disappointed. Before he got hurt, we were using him in two roles and he was responding well. Hopefully he canrecover from his injuries and get back to where he was at before he gothurt.”